Now Commenting On:

Rivera plans to continue shagging fly balls

Email

Print

TAMPA, Fla. -- No one ever wants to see anything like what the Yankees witnessed last May 3 in Kansas City, when Mariano Rivera lay writhing in pain on the warning track, his season cut short by a right knee injury.

But Rivera said that the mishap won't change his pregame routine of shagging fly balls in the outfield, and the Yankees have no plans to tell their 43-year-old closer to do anything differently in the future.

"Only in Kansas City, I joked with him," manager Joe Girardi said. "That's part of who he is. That's part of his game that has made him great. It's his time to relax, have fun and prepare for the day, so I don't want to take that away from him."

Rivera said that he will have to be careful when he returns to the outfield before games, but added that he's always cautious on the field.

"I've been doing this for so many years," Rivera said. "I've been doing it every day since I signed as a professional player. That's what I want to do. To take that away from me, I wouldn't be myself. I will do it, but I have to watch what I do."